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Jon SlaterBrigham Young University - IdahoResearch Experience for Undergraduates
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LinkedInResearch Project
In preparation for the 2017 solar eclipse, I participated in the Solar Physics REU program at Montana State University. Under the direction of Dr. Joseph Shaw, I have been preparing and testing optical instruments to take measurements before, during, and after the 2017 solar eclipse. This will be the first solar eclipse in the U.S. in 26 years. The path of totality will pass directly over Brigham Young University - Idaho. Montana State University has proposed a joint collaboration with Brigham Young University - Idaho in a cooperative experiment measuring sky polarization. The primary project I worked on was the preparation and calibration of an instrument called a Spectro-Polarimeter.
The Spectro-Polarimeter is an instrument used to measure atmospheric polarization. The instrument uses an ASD FieldSpec Pro Spectroradiometer with a linear polarizer and lens fixed to a rotation stage. The optic, consisting of the polarizer and lens, as well as the Spectroradiometer are attached to an Astro-Physics 600E Servo equatorial mount. The Spectroradiometer and equatorial mount are controlled via laptop computer. This allows the instrument to be directed toward any part of the sky when a user inputs an elevation and an azimuth.
My secondary project was the fabrication of a simple, handheld instrument called a Solar Radiometer. This instrument uses an LED as a detector instead of more expensive photodiodes. The drawback is that an LED can only detect a narrow band of wavelengths. The Solar Radiometer functions by using a straightforward circuit to convert photocurrent from the LED into a proportional voltage. By measuring the voltage in frequent and regular time intervals over the course of several hours as the sun rises, one can calculate the optical depth of the atmosphere. Knowing the optical depth of the atmosphere assists in the analysis of atmospheric polarization by describing the effect the atmosphere has on the scattering and absorption of skylight.
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Complete Spectro-Polarimeter setup on the roof of the Cobleigh building, MSU.
Research Log
Week 1: June 1st - June 5th
Week 2: June 8th - June 12th
Week 3: June 15th - June 19th
Week 4: June 22nd - June 26th
Week 5: June 29th - July 3rd
Week 6: July 6th - July 10th
Week 7: July 13th - July 17th
Week 8: July 20th - July 24th
Week 9: July 27th - July 31st
Week 10: August 3rd - August 7th
Presentations
Resources and Links
Optical Remote Sensor Laboratory
Hecht, E. (2002). Optics. San Francisco, CA: Addison Wesley.
Collett, E. (1993). Polarized Light: Fundamentals and Applications. New York, NY: Marcel Dekker, Inc.
Background Information
Currently, I am in my senior year as a physics major at Brigham Young University - Idaho. My expected graduatation date is April 2016.
I love spending time in the outdoors and particularly enjoy mountaineering.
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